Reference Materials
Why Reference Sources?
Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper? Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?
Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases. Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run. Use reference sources to:
- find a topic
- narrow your topic
- find keywords
- get background information on your topic
See also the section on Theories and Concepts
Collections of Many Online Reference Books in one place:
Credo Reference and Gale eBooks / Gale Virtual Reference Library and Salem Press
Oxford Reference and Sage Knowledge Reference also have thousands of scholarly, academic articles, but they are a bit more difficult to use. Click here to find instructions on how to use these collections of reference books.
General Reference Works
Art, Literature, and Popular Culture [Themes] in U.S. History
Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Reference HM 425 .C36 2006
A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory
Dictionary of Global Culture. General CB 9 .D 53 1997
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Encyclopedia of Global Studies .
Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Reference E 169.12 .S 835 1992
Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Popular Culture. Reference HM 621 .G 74 2007
Handbook of American Popular Culture. General E 169.1 .H 2643 1978
Icons of American Popular Culture
Pop Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean
Pop Culture in North Africa and the Middle East
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Reference E 169.12 .S 764 2000
More Specific Reference Works
The Afterlife in Popular Culture: Heaven, Hell, and the Underworld in American Imagination
American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles. Reference HM 647 .A 44 2009
American Icons: An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, and Things that have Shaped our Culture. Reference E 169.1 .A 472155 2006
American Multicultural Identity: Critical Insights to Literature
American Villain: Encyclopedia of Bad Guys in Comics, Film, and Television
Artspeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords, 1945 to the Present. Reference N 6490 .A 87 2014
Baseball: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Reference GV 867.64 .R 52 2000
Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction. Reference PN 56 .P 55 B 4.
The Bizarre World of Reality Television
Blue Collar Pop Culture: From NASCAR to Jersey Shore. General HD 4901 .B 59 2012
Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell - Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th - Century America. Reference E 169.1 .B 7825 2002
Cassells's Peoples, Nations, and Cultures
Cold War Culture: Media and the Arts, 1945 - 1990. Reference E 169.12 .S 39 1998
The Complete Encyclopedia of Signs & Symbols : Identification and Analysis of the Visual Vocabulary that Formulates our Thoughts and Dictates our Reactions to the World around Us. Reference AZ 108 .C 65 2011
Dictionary of Gestures: Expressive Comportments and Movements in Use Around the World. General P 117 .C 713 2018
Dictionary of the Future. General CB 161 .P 66 2001
Encyclopedia of American Contemporary Culture. Reference E 169.12 .E 49 2001
Encyclopedia of American Popular Fiction
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements. Reference HN 57 .E 594 2004
Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World
Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture. Reference HC 79 .C 6 E 53 2011
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. Reference DS 822.5 .E 516 2002
The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures. Reference HM 621.S 73 2004
Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History
Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. Reference E 184 .S 75 E 59 2004
Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers
Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction
Encyclopedia of Rural America: The Land and People. Reference E 169.12 .E 5 1997
Encyclopedia of Social Deviance
Encyclopedia of Social Networks.
Encyclopedia of the Future. General CB 158 .E 53 1996
Etiquette and Taboos around the World : A Geographic Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Customs
Famous Works of Art in Popular Culture: A Reference Guide. Reference N 72 .S 6 S 667 2003
Geek Heroines: An Encyclopedia of Female Heroines in Poplular Culture
International Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Reference HQ 796 .I 58 2007
The Joy of Eating: A Guide to Food in Modern Popular Culture
K-POP A to Z: The Definitive K-Pop Encyclopedia
Key Concepts in Leisure Studies
Keywords in American Cultural Studies.
Language of American Popular Entertainment: A Glossary of Argot, Slang and Terminology. Reference PN 1579 .W 5 1981
The Mythical West: An Encyclopedia of Legend, Lore, and Popular Culture. Reference GR 109 .S 53 2001
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. General E 169.1 .H 614 2002
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (some volumes may also be available in print form)
The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan. Reference HM 646 .G 35 2013
Outbreak! The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior. Reference HM 866 .E 93 2009
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History. Reference HN 57 .O 94 2012
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Crime, Media, and Popular Culture
Pop Culture Landmarks. Reference E 159.2 .C 2 1995
Principles of Sociology: Societal Issues and Behavior. Reference HN 18.3 .P 756 2018
Sage Dictionary of Leisure Studies
Statistical Abstract of the United States. Latest edition on Ready Reference, older editions at General HA 202 .U 5 S 93.
Twentieth - Century American Cultural Theorists. Reference PN 451 .D 5 v.246 2001
The Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States, 1860 - 2019. Reference HB 235 .U 6 D 47 1860 - 2019
We did What? Offensive and Inappropriate Behavior in American History.
